Tips about Epcot, Miscellaneous and Resorts

Epcot - My wife and I went to the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival a couple of weeks ago. Knowing we were going to end our night in the Magic Kingdom we parked there in the morning and took the monorail to Epcot. My tip comes from that ride. When you get to Epcot, the monorail goes into the park so you get a bird's-eye view of the flowers that you can't get otherwise. Now that we have taken this ride we plan to do it more often. - Mike Sikorski

Epcot - My wife and I went to the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival a couple of weeks ago. Knowing we were going to end our night in the Magic Kingdom we parked there in the morning and took the monorail to Epcot. My tip comes from that ride. When you get to Epcot, the monorail goes into the park so you get a bird's-eye view of the flowers that you can't get otherwise. Now that we have taken this ride we plan to do it more often. - Mike Sikorski

Shades of Green - The laundry facilities at Shades of Green only accept tokens, not actual quarters. We learned that the hard way when we brought down about $12 in quarters last summer. You must purchase tokens from the change machines in each laundry room to do your laundry there. On the plus side, the kids had a blast at the arcade with those leftover quarters! - Teri Biebel

Animal Kingdom Lodge - I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed reading "Zamgwar Sleeps with the Giraffes". The last time my husband and I were in Disney World was in September 2009. We were recently married and a family friend let us use her Disney Vacation Club points as a wedding gift. We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and reading Zamgwar's article brought back such wonderful memories. AKL truly is an amazing resort. I have a tip for anyone staying there: Our room was located on the Uzima Savanna. We much preferred this savanna to the main Arusha Savanna. Arusha is extremely large with lots of trees and bushes and when we went down to one of the public viewing areas, we had trouble seeing a lot of the animals. They were either hidden, or too far away. The Uzima Savanna is much smaller and you are guaranteed an up-close and personal look at the animals! - Jillian

All Resorts - For young children who are too big for cribs, bed rails may be available upon request at Disney resorts. Be sure to ask at the front desk if you need them. - Megan

ALL PARKS - It's been said before, but the early bird gets the worm. Each morning we rose with the sun and were at the gates of our chosen park at opening. We literally cruised through on every ride, numerous times. (Expedition Everest five times in 20 minutes!) We were out of the parks by 10:30 each day. Our kids left vacation feeling like we had seen and done everything and we never noticed the crowds. We heard so many complaining about how horrible it was and we shared a private chuckle about our planning. - Michelle K

We all remember to notify our credit card companies before we leave home to let them know we will be out of town so we can use those cards. Something I failed to remember, though, was to notify the company that manages my health insurance "Flex Spending" debit/credit card that I would be in Orlando! Of course, the fourth day into our vacation I got sick. My physician called in an antibiotic to Turner Drug (which, by the way, does not accept any form of insurance). Turner Drug would have accepted my flexible spending card, but it was declined since I hadn't updated it with my traveling details. Also, you don't get a traditional receipt that you can turn in for reimbursement -- that fee was charged on my resort bill. I can't imagine trying to recoup that money with a Disney Resort receipt! - Peggie Radke

Epcot - I was also at Epcot on New Year's Eve 2012 along with Zamgwar and many thousands of others. We had done New Year's Eve twice before, both times at Hollywood Studios. If you want to ensure you get to ride the popular attractions with little wait, you should plan on being at the parks at least a half hour BEFORE the parks open. For special days like New Year's Eve, plan on spending 16 to 18 hours in the park so get plenty of rest the night before. My son and I were the first ones on Mission: Space while my wife and daughter went and got FastPasses for Soarin'. At 8:30 we were allowed to get new FastPasses and got them for Test Track, which was closed for most of the morning due to technical difficulties. Plan on doing attractions you might not normally do and try to rest when you can during the day. I caught some zzz's at the American Adventure. This was the first trip in almost 20 to the World that we walked the entire World Showcase and visited every country and saw all the movies. The only hiccup of the night was IllumiNations was supposed to start at 11:40, but was 10 minutes late starting. That threw off the New Year's fireworks as the "Countdown to New Year's" started at 12:10 a.m. on January 1, 2013. - Rob Ripper

Epcot - I was also at Epcot on New Year's Eve 2012 along with Zamgwar and many thousands of others. We had done New Year's Eve twice before, both times at Hollywood Studios. If you want to ensure you get to ride the popular attractions with little wait, you should plan on being at the parks at least a half hour BEFORE the parks open. For special days like New Year's Eve, plan on spending 16 to 18 hours in the park so get plenty of rest the night before. My son and I were the first ones on Mission: Space while my wife and daughter went and got FastPasses for Soarin'. At 8:30 we were allowed to get new FastPasses and got them for Test Track, which was closed for most of the morning due to technical difficulties. Plan on doing attractions you might not normally do and try to rest when you can during the day. I caught some zzz's at the American Adventure. This was the first trip in almost 20 to the World that we walked the entire World Showcase and visited every country and saw all the movies. The only hiccup of the night was IllumiNations was supposed to start at 11:40, but was 10 minutes late starting. That threw off the New Year's fireworks as the "Countdown to New Year's" started at 12:10 a.m. on January 1, 2013. - Rob Ripper

Pop Century - Just stayed at Pop Century for the first time and really enjoyed the resort. Wanted to mention that the "Mom's Night Out" dinners at the food court are fabulous for about $10! The fried chicken was excellent. Sad to report that those dinners are no longer served in metal TV dinner trays, though. - Susan

ALL PARKS - A great way to save time if possible is to go to the park without a bag. We could not accomplish this on every park visit, but when we would go to Magic Kingdom for a short visit in the morning or evening, we packed small necessary items (camera, lip balm, antibacterial gel) in my husband and son's cargo pockets, wore our Photopass and tickets around our necks and breezed into the parks. - Tanya

All Resorts - My wife and I get to go to Walt Disney World fairly often, so we always build "relax" time into our trips. Sometimes, that means going back to the resort for a quick nap in the middle of the afternoon. We find that turning on the "WDW Today" channel on the TV provides the perfect background music for this. "The nap channel" (as we call it) provides soft, instrumental versions of Disney songs. We hop in bed, turn the volume down a bit, and drift off to a rejuvenating sleep. And while I can't prove it, I'm pretty sure the music helps to make magical dreams! - Brian Lawrence

We love the refillable mugs at the Disney resorts and find them to be a great value. Before leaving home, I purchase disposable dishcloths and spray them with a foamy dish-washing detergent, let them dry and place in a zipper top bag. Just dampen the wipes to thoroughly clean the mugs with soap and water. Each wipe lasts for several washings. No leftover, sticky residue; just a nice clean mug. Especially great if one member of the family has the sniffles. - Linda Jacobs

All Resorts - If you have toddlers and/or crawling babies, it is a good idea to check the floor, including under the beds, for medications dropped from the previous resort guests. We found an unknown pill picked up by our one year old as he was scouting out the place. It only takes a minute and is well worth the effort! - Timothy

All Resorts - We just returned from a visit to the World. We have a 3-year-old, so upon check-in I asked if I could have a stepstool in the room so he would be able to easily use the sink to wash hands and brush teeth. I am happy to report they were able to accommodate my request! It was great! I thought other parents traveling with toddlers would find this helpful. - Amy Devoe